


Cast A Shadow

by freesoupcoupon



Category: Destiny (Video Games)
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-12-02
Updated: 2019-12-02
Packaged: 2021-02-26 17:14:29
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,105
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21651958
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/freesoupcoupon/pseuds/freesoupcoupon
Summary: One of the first Guardians to be named a Shadow of Earth by Emperor Calus aims to confront her past and tie up loose ends once and for all.
Comments: 1
Kudos: 2





	Cast A Shadow

**?. Shadow of Hunters (Excerpt from the Chronicon)**

(Recorded by Scribe Ixolt)

_The following pages are a true and authentic publication of the incredible deeds and and journey of Kimberly, Shadow of the Hunter Tribe, first Shadow of Earth, witnessed by the great Emperor Calus, his most loyal allies, and recorded at his request by his most trusted scribes._

The Shadow of the Hunters came aboard the great prison ship, invited as many Lightbearers were to be tested by his greatness, in the wake of the “Red War.” She came as part of a six-strong pack, one of whom was another Hunter. A well oiled machine, they were, as they took to Calus’s challenge with eagerness, mostly motivated by the promise of fame and fortune.

The Shadow was different. The Shadow had boarded the ship coming off a great emotional turmoil that had shaken her to her core, a turmoil that writhed within her, lashing out at every fiber of her being in the quiet between tests, so potent that the councilors aboard could, “feel the anguish.” It was not until her encounter with one of the machines, created in the Emperor’s holy likeness, that something within the yet-to-be Shadow would ignite. 

As the great Emperor’s likeness spoke to her through the machine mere moments before it was melted by her light, his words resonated, and stifled that turmoil. His words became the backbone of the Shadow’s new self.

_“Defiant until the end! Magnificent.”_

And defiant she was.

Just as she came to accept his perception, she accepted the gifts she’d otherwise taken with apathy. No longer did she treat the glorious armaments of the Leviathan as strange trinkets, as many of even her allies would. Just as she donned her defiance, she donned this equipment, wearing the Leviathan’s visage with pride. 

She was now on the path to becoming a Shadow.

Again and again, she participated in the Emperor’s tests with her same allies, and soon, she was given her first _true_ test beyond mere games and arenas - she led her allies deep into the Leviathan, into the belly of the beast, to perform what the Emperor declared “maintenance” - the slaying of a debatably dangerous and rather inconvenient Vex Mind that’d been caught in the Leviathan’s devouring of Nessus. With no hesitation, she led her team into the ship’s reactor, and cleared the debris. And while her allies remained motivated by reward, the Shadow remained persistent in her pursuit of something grander.

When the traitorous Val Ca’our led the last of the Red Legion against the grand Leviathan, the Shadow was there. Swift to the Emperor’s defense, she led her team not only to the Spire where Val Ca’our struck, but to take control of the Leviathan’s mighty weapons, and in one fell swoop, dispatched of the fleet and the Dominus in a miraculous show of defiance. 

Calus demanded that the Scribes record the Shadow’s triumphant words as she stood over the wounded traitor, speaking venomous words fueled by the Red Legion’s siege upon her beloved City and Traveler;

_You left me with nothing, and now I have everything._

* * *

“Bull _shit.”_ Tusk threw her head back laughing as she kicked her feet up onto the booth’s table, popping open another bottle with her teeth and taking a swig of it, glancing at the other two hunters at either side of her, before looking back at Kimberly, who’d turned the slightest shade of red in response. “There’s no fuckin’ way you came up with that, what the hell kinda… who says that?” 

Kimberly took a deep breath. “It’s a _taunt,_ Tusk. And yes, I _did_ come up with it.”

“On the spot?” Sarsaparilla asked. “Gotta say, s’pretty profound of ya to come up with a line like that outta the blue.”

Kimberly just shrugged in response. “I was feeling… _inspired,_ that day. Don’t you ever have days like that, hmm? Where the words just kind of…” She waved her hands around by her mouth, trying to find the words. “ _Flow,_ like that?”

She was met with more snickering from Tusk, crickets from Sarsaparilla, and a bit of a shrug from Riptide, who took another drink of her own. “I guess that kinda makes sense. Especially considering it’s… well, y’know, you.” She gestured at Kimberly.

Another chuckle from Tusk, clearly not buying it. “Yeah, sure, the mousy little twig that used to forget her own _name_ in conversations, came up with something like that. Sorry, but I'm not exactly sold. The Kimberly I knew _couldn’t_ even if she tried.”

Kimberly let out a long sigh in response, before shooting Tusk a smirk of her own. “Maybe I’m not the Kimberly you knew, hmm? It's been quite a while since we last spoke, and Traveler knows you’re not the Tusk _I_ knew.”

“Oh yeah?”

“Well, for starters, the Tusk I knew didn’t know what a _shower_ was. I do believe even that Drifter character smells better than you used to."

“Hey, hey, hold on, it was the Dark Age-!” Tusk put her hands up, trying to deflect the heat off of herself to no avail.

“I took showers during the Dark Age.” Riptide butted in, grinning. “Two a day, actually. Three, if I was with Virt… actually, nevermind.” She shifted around in her chair a bit, glancing around the room a little awkwardly.

Sarsaparilla interjected as well, a little innocently. “Weren’t too hard to find toiletries back then, y’know… coulda at least brushed yer teeth…”

“We weren’t all so lucky, y’know-” Tusk started again.

“You were resurrected in the middle of a fucking _city,_ Tusk. Did you even _look?”_ Riptide crossed her arms, and Tusk relented, clearly defeated, mumbling about how she hadn’t really looked at all. Kimberly sat back in her chair and hummed, looking _very_ proud of herself.

There was a beat of silence.

“What was that about Virtue?” Sarsaparilla asked.

“Oh, that walking fortress of a titan, right?” Kimberly perked up. “Wait, what’s this? I never heard this. Riptide?” 

Riptide went a little pale when all eyes were on her. She cleared her throat, and after a few seconds, Tusk glanced down at Riptide's lap, back up at her, and almost spit her drink out as she burst into laughter, leaving Sarsa even more confused, and Kimberly shooting her a knowing look. Riptide let out a deep sigh, waited for Tusk’s hysterics to simmer down to gentle snickering, before glancing at Kimberly, her face flush with color. “Uh… where were you?”

“Thank you _so much_ for asking, dear.” Kimberly replied sweetly, and all eyes were back on her. She cleared her throat, and went on...


End file.
